Stay on target

You don’t have to travel as far as China to get a glimpse at what a surveillance state looks like. Just head on down to Texas and see what U.S. Customs and Border Protection is rolling out.

The agency is getting ready to kick the tires on a bunch of facial recognition cameras at the Mexican border. They’re being deployed at the Anzalduas International Bridge near MacAllen, Texas. It’s a very busy stretch of road, which isn’t a surprise given that it’s “the most direct, safe, and efficient route” linking the Rio Grande Valley to Mexico.

The system they’ll use was created in conjunction with researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It was their job to figure out how to deal with fast-moving subjects, glare, and window tint.

CBP executive director of planning Colleen Manaher believes the cameras are a win even if they only identify half the people passing through. “Right now, I don’t have anything,” she told the Austin American-Statesman.

How do people feel about getting their faces scanned? Manaher “Traveler acceptance is really high,” adding that “we can thank the Apples and the Googles for that.”

That’s right. Customs thinks it’s great that OEMs have been pushing the use of biometrics on your phones as a security improvement and convenience… because it’s made you more comfortable with the idea of having your face scanned and run through a government database to track your movement.

Sure, this is just a single location now and it’s helping CBP staff keep tabs on a very busy international crossing. But let’s not forget that the DHS and TSA have also run similar pilot programs at two major airports — Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta and Denver International.

Yes, the Atlanta and Denver trials were limited to people who willing enrolled in PreCheck. More than 5 million Americans signed up, which certainly backs up Manaher’s claim.

Given that officials are generally satisfied with results and there’s been relatively little resistance from the public so far, it seems pretty likely that facial recognition will be coming soon to a border crossing or airport near you.